Onam sweets at my desk

It’s festival time in India. With the onset of the South-West monsoon, the harvest season begins and it brings a flurry of festivals like Gudi Padwa, Sankranthi, Pongal, Baisakhi, Vishu, Ugadi etc. And to add sparkle to these we have Diwali, Eid and Christmas; culminating with the spirited New Year.

I have just returned from Kerala after celebrating our main festival - Onam. While I was lazily sitting on the couch and browsing through the numerous TV channels, I happened to listen to one chat show in which one participant proclaimed the following - “these festivals are celebrated in a more vibrant fashion by people who are staying outside their homeland”. In this case he meant, Onam is celebrated more by Keralites living in places such as Bangalore, Chennai, Dubai etc.

This made me think.

What could have prompted the speaker to say this?

When I was a little boy I used to stay with my grandparents who were essentially farmers. My parents went to near and far away towns when their work demanded, but I stayed in my little village to do my schooling. And then, fortunately, I passed every grade, and was replanted in another place with the aim of being called as bread earning member of the family. I have celebrated Onam in both the places. In my village we celebrated with what we had cultivated. But in far away places, we are eager consumers swiping the plastic cards in search of the elusive reward points.

When I look back at all these, I have come to conclusion that this is the necessity of our times and we have to live by it. Because each time a festival comes, it brings us new hope for a brighter and prosperous tomorrow.

Happy festival times!

New novel - Drop dead, simple and thrilling

It was with great anticipation that I started reading Drop dead by Swati Kaushal. And when I finished the novel, I have to say that the rewards has been good for such great anticipation.

Ever since I signed up in GoodReads to keep track of my reading habits, I always check other users rating before finalizing on reading a new book. And this book, as it happens, have a rating of 3.83 (when I checked last time). This means the readers have given generally favorable reviews to the book.

And why shouldn't they?  

The author has done a pretty decent job of writing a crime novel. Character description, of each of the main characters, has been superbly handled. I mention this because, I think this is the single most important component of a good novel. Many of the contemporary works of fiction has failed to excite me because the characters search in the dark for an identity. For a change though, we have a lady detective at the forefront of the story. The plot revolves round the murder of a businessman. The fact that murdered man was ruthless in his business and personal dealings makes the job tough for the investigating officers, since everyone he has met in those dealings makes a good adversary. Finally, Superintendent of police Niki Marwah and her team of dedicated police officers does a spectacular job to nail the culprit.

About HAPAH Group

I cannot point out the exact date at which this group was formed. Or, more precisely, there was probably no such date. Like the rays converge when they go by a lens, the proximities of our home town also helped us to channelise our thinking to a single point.This happened more or around during the second or third semesters of our engineering studies. It is worthwhile to mention that the element of friendship had only second significance at first. The name was first coined to be used in the copyright statements of our publications, mainly in the field of software’s. As time passed by we came to realize that, there will little or no practical difference between our views and actions. I am not trying to boast our group as an incomparable, unequalled, gallant and superior entity. But the fundamental point is that, the difference between us is far less in magnitude when compared to the alikeness of our practical perspectives. And that’s where the reality lies. Over the past several years we have molded ourselves into a platform which can support every one of us as the need arrives.

My greatest asset from college

Friends has been one of the most important asset that i take out from my college.Over the period of 4 years, i have made acquaintance with many.And barring one or two(whose names i don't wish to disclose), the rest has been extraordinary.As with all others, i persume, there were some who fitted into the class of the very best.I have tried hard to do away with any kind of grievances,if at all there was any, which existed between me and others.The effort was almost a full success until an odd incident in my final semester.

11-05-05, The last day of my college life.

It was also the day of our last exam for final semester.But no one was very much in a sentimental mood.I don't think the toll of the final exam had in anyway affected us.Then what could be the reason? The best answer is that we had devoted a whole day for saying GoodBye and now, like any other things in our life, this has also become a common affair.But one of my best friends had other ideas.When we were coming back our homes in my bike he told that he was in very sentimental mood today.Also that he was surprised to see no one else sharing his views at that time just after the exams.When i heard this i told within me,"I was not the only one thinking about this!".